Figure Studies [verso]
c. 1530/1540
![Figure Studies [verso] by Perino del Vaga](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/nga/thumb/figure-studies-verso-nga-57614.webp)
Medium
pen and brown ink on laid paper (red chalk line across center)
Dimensions
overall: 19.2 x 27.4 cm (7 9/16 x 10 13/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund
Accession Number
1980.31.1.b
Art Historical Context
Perino del Vaga’s *Figure Studies [verso]* offers a fascinating glimpse into the working methods of a leading 16th-century Italian artist. Active during the Mannerist period, Perino trained under Raphael and absorbed the graceful, elongated forms that defined the era. Created around 1530–1540, this sheet of pen-and-brown-ink drawings on laid paper reveals the artist’s careful observation of the human body, likely made in preparation for larger frescoes or paintings. The medium itself highlights Renaissance drawing practices. The quick, fluid lines demonstrate how artists used inexpensive pape...
About the Artist
Perino del Vaga · 1501–1547
Italian artist. Comment on works: Religious